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SAN JOSE – Flextronics’s third-quarter adjusted net income rose 84% over last year to $250 million on net sales of $9.07 billion. The company’s December quarter sales were boosted 67%, thanks to its acquisition of rival Solectron Corp.

LOS ALTOS, CA – Ongoing fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis and the predicted retrenchment of consumer spending has put a dent in the prospects for light vehicle demand, Henderson Ventures reports, with unit output forecast to grow 2.5% this year, after a 5.4% burst in 2007, the research firm says.

The softening demand for vehicles will slow automotive electronics growth from 8.1% in 2007 to 5.6% in 2008. The pace will then accelerate to 7.9% in 2009 and 10.5% in 2010, when global automotive electronics production is forecast to reach $140 billion.

This year’s unit slowdown will be felt all over. For example, Chinese output growth will slow from 25.8% in 2007 to 15.5% this year.

Potential car buyers increasingly want onboard access to all entertainment electronics and gadgets they have at home, as evidenced by the profusion of video displays, MP3 player ports and power outlets. In short, increasing electronics content will help offset meager vehicle growth this year, Henderson reports.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American circuit board shipments fell 5.4% year-over-year in December, while orders rose 5.5%. For the year, shipments were down 8.7%, while bookings fell 6.3%, IPC said.

For the month, rigid shipments were down 5.9% and bookings were up 6.8% compared to 2006. For the year, shipments were down 8.9% and bookings were down 7%. Sequentially, shipments increased 8% and bookings increased 3.1%. The book-to-bill ratio was 1.01.

Flex circuit shipments were up 1% in December, while bookings were down 9.7% year-over-year. For the year, flex circuit shipments were down 5.7% and bookings were up 4%. Sequentially, flex shipments were up 5.6% and bookings rose 2.2%. The book-to-bill was 1.0.

Compared to November, all shipments were up 7.8% and bookings were up 3.1%. The book-to-bill ratio fell to 1.01.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Hourly wages in the U.S. and Canadian PCB industries are on the rise, having increased 3.3% year-over-year in 2006, while salary budgets rose an estimated 3% from 2006 to 2007.

That’s according to IPC’s biennial look at wages and salaries for EMS companies. The trade group published its findings this week.

According to the study, on average, U.S. and Canadian EMS organizational salary budgets for salaried positions increased 3.1% in 2007. Salary budgets for management positions increased 3.9%, while hourly positions increased 3.3%. Benefit costs in 2006 were, on average, 16.8% of total wages, down from 21.6% in 2004.

NETANYA, ISRAEL –A host of international universities have teamed on a $3-million effort to develop DNA-based self-organizing molecular electronics.

With support from the EU, Tel-Aviv University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem,Regensburg University, Madrid University and the Lausanne School of Technology share a goal to create a prototype electronic component based on a single DNA molecule, and achieve DNA-based nanodevices based on the group’s previous realization of nanowires.

The project's cost is estimated at about $3 million and is scheduled to end in April 2009.

"We expect to realize a device-wire with a controlled non-linear response, either bi-stability or negative differential resistance, at the end of the project," the researchers said, according to published reports.

The DNA-based nanoelectronic devices would be about 1000 times smaller than existing electronics, the report said.

ATLANTA – UP Media Group, parent company of Circuits Assembly and Printed Circuit Design & Fab, announced today that several leading industry suppliers have signed on to exhibit at Virtual PCB, the industry's first virtual trade show and conference for the PCB design, fabrication and assembly markets, on Feb. 12-13.